ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Annual Survey ...€¦ · Annual Survey Instructions and Definitions Revised: ... as academic librarians, have a national overview of the

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ACRL Academic Library Trends & Statistics Annual Survey | Instructions | 1

ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics

Annual Survey

Instructions and Definitions

Revised: August 2019

Introduction The ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey is administered by the ACRL Academic Library Trends and

Statistics Survey Editorial Board and is designed to gather information at the national level from all types of academic

libraries. It is the largest survey of academic libraries in the country and therefore provides one of the most comprehensive

portraits of the impact that academic libraries have across the U.S.

The ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey is composed of three parts:

● Questions from the IPEDS Academic Libraries Component. Every institution of higher education receiving

federal funding must respond to the IPEDS survey. The ACRL survey asks every library question required by

IPEDS, with instructions and definitions completely aligned since 2015. ACRL survey results are available

quickly: typically three months after the survey closes.

● Selected questions about academic libraries not included in IPEDS, which IPEDS sometimes uses as test

questions for future surveys.

● A section of questions about library trends; every year features a different topic. In 2019, we are asking questions

about Open Educational Resources (OER).

Where will the reported data appear? Data collected through the ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey will be available at the institution and

aggregated levels. Full access to all 2019 results will be available within a few months after the survey closes through a

subscription to ACRL Metrics (an online database). Results are also published in the 2019 print edition of ACRL

Academic Library Trends and Statistics (available four months after the survey closes). Aggregate survey results are

available to all participating libraries via ACRLMetrics within a few months of the submission deadline.

Why should my library participate in this survey? At the very least, we hope that every academic library which submits data to IPEDS as part of their federal requirement

will submit the same data to ACRL. ACRL members recommend completing the ACRL survey first, because, after

completion, respondents are offered a .txt file which can then be used to upload the required IPEDS responses (excluding

annotations) by any authorized institutional keyholder which may include a library staff member designated by the

campus keyholder. This feature makes submitting IPEDS statistics straightforward and fast.

Moreover, the ACRL survey is the largest of its kind, offering the best picture of the impact academic libraries in the U.S.

have through their staffing, teaching, collections, and beyond. Collecting these data systematically and thoroughly ensures

that we, as academic librarians, have a national overview of the overall resources, investments, and contributions we make

and allows us to benchmark more widely, track new trends, demonstrate our value, and make data-informed decisions in a

timely way. The survey questions are shaped by respondents from every type of library: ACRL needs and welcomes your

suggestions.

http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/editorialboards/acr-stats


https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/Section/Alscenter

https://www.acrlmetrics.com/

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General Instructions

Submission website

http://acrl.countingopinions.com

Reporting Period Covered

Report all data for fiscal year (FY) 2019. Fiscal year 2019 is defined as the most recent 12-month period that ends before

October 1, 2019, that corresponds to the institution’s fiscal year.

Data Collection Period

The survey will be open from September 2019 – February 28, 2020.

General Instructions

Please respond to each item in this survey. If the appropriate answer for an item is zero or none, or if a material is

provided and counts are not measurable, use "0." If a material is not provided or not applicable, leave the item blank.

The members of the ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey Editorial Board recognize and acknowledge

the differences in internal workflows in academic libraries resulting in varying data collection compilation processes and

reporting. We are asking each library to respond as best as possible when completing this survey and to provide

annotations (notes) accordingly.

Adding Notes

Add any significant, measure-specific data note by clicking on the pad and pencil symbol in, or to the left of, the relevant

data input box. Once a note is added, the symbol turns yellow. Refresh the screen view and the note appears at the bottom

of the input file. To update an existing note, click on the symbol and then click on the note (existing notes are highlighted

in blue, just below the white input box). You can remove the note by clicking on the red “x” adjacent to the note. Submit

any general notes in the Notes field before the Trends questionnaire section.

Reporting Units

Include data for the main or central academic library and all branch and independent libraries that were open all or part of

the fiscal year 2019. For IPEDS institutions, data should be reported consistently with the institution’s IPEDS Unit ID.

Branch and independent libraries are defined as auxiliary library service outlets with quarters separate from the central

library that houses the basic collection. The central library administers the branches. Libraries on branch campuses that

have separate IPEDS unit identification numbers are reported as separate libraries.

Reporting of Law and Medical Libraries

Institutions with separate law library and/or medical library(ies) may want to submit a separate survey for each. This may

also be helpful for libraries that support other professional schools (e.g., business, library science, social work).

Counting Opinions, which administers the survey on behalf of ACRL, will work with you to manage the data process to

produce the correct IPEDS-aligned file(s) for submission to IPEDS. This will ensure there is no duplication of data in the

ACRL data collection, and that the ACRL data is comparable with the IPEDS data available for needed ratios (e.g., library

staff per student, library expenditures per institutional expenditures). Contact Counting Opinions for more information at

[email protected] or at 1-800-542-9847.

IPEDS Integration

Libraries at all U.S. academic institutions receiving federal funding must submit IPEDS data, so we hope all academic

libraries will also participate in the ACRL survey. In fact, to save yourself time, please submit your ACRL data before

doing the IPEDS survey. Upon completion of the ACRL survey, the site offers a downloadable file for upload to IPEDS.

http://acrl.countingopinions.com/


mailto:[email protected]

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This feature makes submission of IPEDS data quick and easy, whether you do it yourself or send the file to your

institution’s IPEDS keyholder. This year, the ACRL survey administrator, Counting Opinions, will also send a URL to the

download option via email to all institutional survey respondents who provide an email address.

Where to Get Help with Reporting

If you have any questions regarding the survey instrument or the instructions, please contact the ACRL survey

administrator, Counting Opinions, at 1-800-542-9847 or via email at [email protected]. For additional

guidance about IPEDS questions, see the IPEDS survey website for this cycle which includes the questions, instructions,

and definitions for the IPEDS Academic Libraries (AL) survey component.


https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/VisForms.aspx?survey=15&form=103&index=0&ri=0&show=all&instid=30103

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Notes for Library Consortia A library consortium is any local, statewide, regional, or interstate cooperative association of libraries that provides for the

systematic and effective coordination of the resources of schools, public, academic, and special libraries and information

centers, for improving services to the clientele of such libraries. (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Sect. 54.500)

The purpose of library consortia can include:

● Cost reduction through group purchasing

● Professional development for library staff

● Resource sharing (content, technology, expertise, and funding)

● Networking, information sharing, mass communication

● Building shared integrated library management and cataloging systems.

A library consortium can be multitype; almost any type of library can participate (e.g., public libraries). For IPEDS

purposes, academic libraries that share an administrative unit are NOT considered a consortium (see definition of branch

and independent libraries). There are two cases of consortium: one in which members share ALL library resources or one

in which they share PARTIAL resources. Refer below for specific instructions in each case.

Consortium Members Sharing ALL Resources

In the case of consortia where individual library members share ALL the same library resources and library budget, a

parent/child relationship for reporting Academic Libraries data may be established if certain criteria are met. Parent/child

relationships can be established for institutions if: (1) the child institution is in the same institutional control as the parent,

and (2) the child institution is not set up to report its own academic libraries expenses or collections data.

Once a parent/child relationship has been established, the parent institution will report all data for the child institution.

Shared resources are to be reported at the system level. For example, if 20,000 e-book titles were purchased by two

institutions in a parent/child relationship to be shared, the parent institution will report 20,000 e-book titles and not 40,000

e-book titles. Institutions wishing to establish a parent/child relationship must contact the IPEDS Help Desk (1-877-225-

2568 or [email protected]). See the IPEDS resource guide for more details on parent/child reporting.

Consortium Members Sharing PARTIAL Resources

In the case where individual library members of the consortia share PARTIAL resources and/or report their own academic

library expenses or collections data, they must do so for their individual institution. Please note the instructions below.

Reporting digital/electronic collection

If your library is part of a consortium of independent libraries and shares a common e-service (e.g., Overdrive),

then your library should report the number of digital/electronic titles it has access to as part of its collection. For

example, if your library pays a set annual fee, as part of a consortium, for access rights to 1,200 e-books that are

shared across all members of the consortium, then your library should count the 1,200 titles as part of its e-book

collection.

Reporting digital/electronic circulation or usage

If your library is part of a consortium of independent libraries and shares a common e-service (e.g., Overdrive),

then count the digital/electronic usage for your library’s e-books and e-media collection only. If the usage count

for only your institution is not available from the e-service provider, you may allocate the total usage based on

characteristics of the institutions in the consortia (e.g., based on percentage FTE students, based on percentage of

consortial fees, etc.). Do not include counts from other members of the consortium.

Reporting expenditures

If your library pays a set annual consortium fee for memberships that do not include access to collections, report

the membership fee under “Operations and maintenance expenses.” If the membership fee includes costs for


https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/resource/download/AL_Reporting_Relationships.pdf

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access to collections, but that part of the fee cannot be broken out, include the entire fee under “Operations and

maintenance expenses.” (This is not IPEDS language. See FAQ for additional ACRL guidance on this topic.)

Detailed Instructions

Staffing Types, FTEs and Expenses

01-06 Column A. Staffing Types and FTE

Helpful definitions Librarians

“Librarians” are professional staff as defined by NISO: Staff members doing work that

requires professional education (the master's degree or its equivalent) in the theoretical

and scientific aspects of librarianship. [NISO 39.7-2013, section 3.4]

Other professional staff

Other professional staff are defined by NISO as staff performing professional level tasks

who, though not librarians, have equivalent education and training in related fields (e.g.,

archives, preservation or conservation, computer sciences, business administration,

education). [NISO 39.7-2013, section 3.4]

All other paid staff (except student assistants)

Library staff members without formal qualification in librarianship/information science

or other relevant specialization, not included elsewhere. [NISO 39.7-2013, section 3.3]

Student assistants

Student assistants (graduate and undergraduate) employed on an hourly basis whose

wages are paid with funds from the library budget or from an account(s) within the

institution, including the Federal Work-Study Program. [modified from NISO 39.7-2013,

section 3.7]

Census date

Report the number of filled or temporarily vacant FTE positions assigned to the library

as of November 1 of the fiscal year.

Additional

guidance

Report FTEs supported from the library budget. However, if known, if significant, and if

specifically for library business, include FTEs funded by the institution’s budget. For

example, for staffing counts, you may include full counts for federal work-study students

working for the library, but do not include counts for maintenance and custodial staff. If

there are significant counts included or excluded because of how budgeting/expenses are

handled at your institution, indicate in a note whether your reporting here includes or

excludes them.

Computing FTEs for part-

time staff

To compute FTEs for part-time employees and student assistants, take the total number

of hours worked per week by part-time employees in each category. Then divide that

number by the number of hours considered to be a full-time schedule (e.g., 60 hours

were worked by part-time employees the week of November 1. Divide that by 40 hours

per week to get 1.50 FTE). Data should be reported to two decimal places. [NISO Z39.7-

2013, section 3, wording modified]

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01-06 Column B. Staffing Salaries and Wages

Report salaries and wages before deductions for all full-time and part-time library staff, including student assistant wage

and Federal Work-Study students' wage, from the library budget or all other institutional sources that are identifiable.

Include salaries and wages by staffing types and exclude fringe benefit expenses.

07. Number of hours to work per week to be considered “full time” at the institution

Indicate the number of hours a person needs to work per week at the institution to be considered “full-time.”

08. Are staff fringe benefits paid from the library budget?

If benefits are paid from the library budget, select “yes” and report the amount. If benefits are not paid from the library

budget, select “no” and report “0” for the amount.

09 Column B. Staff fringe benefits (IF paid by library budget)

If fringe benefits are paid by the library budget (“yes”), report all cash contributions in the form of supplementary or

deferred compensation other than salary. Do not include the employee's contribution. Employee fringe benefits include

retirement plans, social security taxes, medical/dental plans, unemployment compensation plans, group life insurance

plans, worker's compensation plans, and other benefits in-kind with cash options. Exclude employee fringe benefits if not

paid from the library budget (“no”).

Expenses (Exclude Staff)

Expenses should be reported for the most recent 12-month period that corresponds to your institution's fiscal year that

ends before October 1, 2019. Report funds expended by the library (regardless of when received) from its regular budget

and from all other sources (e.g., research grants, special projects, gifts and endowments, and fees for services). If items in

this section are not paid from the library budget but can be easily identified in other parts of the institution's budget, report

them here. All expenses should be reported in whole dollars in the most appropriate category to provide an unduplicated

count of expenses. Exclude expenses for new buildings and building renovation.

Materials / Services Expenses

Please note: IPEDS views a product such as Safari as a database, and it may be reported in three places in this section of

the survey:

● Expenses: A product such as Safari could be reported as part of question 20: One-time purchase of books, serial

back-files, and other materials, OR, if Safari is an ongoing, annual expense at your library, its annual cost should

then be reported as part of question 21: Ongoing commitments to subscriptions.

● Collection: The Safari collection titles may qualify under the definition of question 40 Column B:

Digital/Electronic Books. Count each e-book title as a single title, regardless of the number of user seats.

● Database: Add Safari as a database in question 41 Column B. Databases include e-book databases.

20. One-time purchases of books, serial back-files, and other materials

Provide the cost of one-time purchases of books, serial backfiles, and other materials. Report expenses for published

materials in all formats including archives and special collections. Include one-time acquisitions of access rights for

digital/electronic materials held locally and for remote materials for which permanent access rights have been acquired.

Include expenses for database licenses only if they are not a subscription and, if received through a consortium, only if the

costs for the resources can be separated from other membership costs. (This last phrase is not IPEDS language. A full

ACRL FAQ on this topic available at the end of this file.) Do not include expenses for computer software used to support

library operations or to link external networks, including the Internet. This is reported under other operations and

maintenance expenses.

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20a. E-books (if available)

Report the library’s one-time expenses for e-books in the e-books block only if the library can identify these expenses

separately (question 20a).

These e-book expenses should be included in the block labeled “One-time purchases of books, serial back-files, and other

materials.” Any expenses for e-books indicated in this separate block (question 20a) will not be added into the Total

materials/services expenses. One-time expenses for e-books is included as an informational data point only.

Report one-time expenses for triggered patron-drive acquisitions (PDAs) in question 20 and in question 20a if it is an e-

book.

Do not report funds in deposit accounts as expenditures until the library receives something from the deposit. Counting

the deposit as an expenditure and then counting the actual expenditure from the deposit would inflate reported

expenditures. This survey considers only expenditures that resulted in an actual acquisition.

21. Ongoing commitments to subscriptions

Report expenses for ongoing commitments in all formats, including duplicates, for all outlets. This includes serials and

any other items committed to annually, as well as annual electronic platform or access fees. Serials are publications issued

in successive parts, usually at regular intervals, and, as a rule, intended to be continued indefinitely. Print-based serial

subscriptions include periodicals, newspapers, annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.), memoirs, proceedings, and transactions

of societies. Include the costs of electronic serials bought in aggregations and serial packages. Include abstracting and

indexing services and any database that requires an annual subscription fee. Do not include fees for subscriptions received

through a consortium unless those costs can be separated out from other membership costs. (This last sentence is not

IPEDS language. A full ACRL FAQ on this topic available at the end of this file.) Government documents received

serially are included if they are accessible through the library's catalog or discovery system.

If possible, include expenses concerning standing orders. A standing order is an ongoing commitment as opposed to a

one-time purchase because if the library cancels the standing order it would no longer receive the content.

21a. E-books (if available)

Report the library’s ongoing expenses for e-books in the e-books block only if the library can identify these expenses

separately. An example of an ongoing commitment to e-books would be a multi-year subscription to a publisher’s e-book

collection.

Additional guidance:

Include annual access fees for ebook platforms if possible/practicable.

These e-book expenses should be included in the block labeled “Ongoing commitments to subscriptions.” Any expenses

for e-books indicated in this separate block will not be added into question 23: Total materials/services expenses. Ongoing

expense for e-books is included as an informational data point only.

21b. E-journals (if available)

Report the library’s ongoing expenses for e-journals in the e-journals block only if the library can identify these expenses

separately. This would include the cost for databases that are primarily comprised of e-journals.

These e-journals expenses should be included in the block labeled “Ongoing commitments to subscriptions.” Any

expenses for e-journals indicated in this separate block will not be added into question 23: Total materials/services

expenses. Ongoing expense for e-journals is included as an informational data point only.

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22. All other materials/services costs

Report additional materials/service costs that have not already been reported in this section. Other materials/service costs

may include:

● Document delivery/interlibrary loan services. Include fees paid for photocopies, costs of facsimile transmissions,

royalties and access fees paid to provide document delivery or interlibrary loan. Include the interlibrary loan fees

paid to bibliographic utilities if the interlibrary loan costs paid can be separated out from the expenses paid to the

bibliographic utility.

● Do not count expenses related to transactions between the main or central library and branches, transactions

between branches, or expenses for an on-campus delivery.

● Include costs associated with pay-per-view journal article transactions.

● Include fees expended for short-term loans as part of a Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA) or Demand-Driven

Acquisition (DDA) program.

● Other expenses for information resources. Include copyright fees and fees for database searches (e.g., DIALOG,

Lexis-Nexis).

● If ILL is included as an expense with bibliographic utilities, but the costs cannot be separated out, include those

costs only with the bibliographic utilities expenses in question 25.

● Include expenditures for pay-per-view (PPV) journal article transactions in question 22. If, however, the library

places the journal article in the collection (the library keeps it), then it should be reported in question 20.

● Include the costs for bibliographic management systems (e.g., RefWorks, EndNote) if provided through the

library’s budget for students and faculty. This survey views these products as information resource management

tools.

23. Total materials/services expenses

This line will automatically be calculated for you.

Operations and Maintenance Expenses

24. Preservation services

Report expenses associated with maintaining library and archival materials for use either in their original physical form or

in some other usable way. This includes but is not limited to binding and rebinding, materials conservation, de-

acidification, lamination, and restoration. Also, include preservation-related contracts for services (e.g., digitization for

preservation purposes). Do not include staff salaries and wages.

25. All other operations and maintenance expenses

Report any other operations and maintenance expenses that have not already been reported in this section.

Include:

● Computer hardware and software expenses. Report expenses from the library budget for computer hardware and

software used to support library operations, whether purchased or leased, local or remote. Include the expenses for

equipment used to run information service products when that expense can be separated from the price of the

product.

● National, regional, and local bibliographic utilities, networks and consortia, excluding any materials expenditures

that can be separated out from other membership costs. (This last phrase is not IPEDS language. See FAQ for

additional ACRL guidance on this topic.)

● If interlibrary loan fees paid to bibliographic utilities cannot be separated out, include the interlibrary loan costs

here with the library’s expenses of the bibliographic utilities. If interlibrary loan fees paid to bibliographic

utilities can be separated out, include those interlibrary loan costs in question 22.

● All other operating and maintenance expenses. Report all other expenses from the library budget not already

reported. Exclude expenses for new buildings and building renovations. Include all expenses for furniture and

equipment. Include any related maintenance costs.

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● Include registration and travel expenses for staff to attend conferences/professional development. (Please note

that this is not IPEDS language.)

26. Total Operations and Maintenance Expenses

These lines will automatically be calculated for you.

27. Are expenses reported in Canadian dollars?

If expenses are reported in Canadian dollars, select “yes.” If expenses are not reported in Canadian dollars, select “no.”

30. & 31. Total Expenses with and without Fringe Benefits


Library Collections

Scope This section of the survey collects data on selected types of material. It does not cover all

materials.

Reporting period

Report the total number of each category held at the END OF Fiscal Year 2019.

What to include

Count only those materials that are considered part of your collection. Include only items

that are cataloged and/or searchable through the library catalog or discovery system (the

cataloging level does not matter). Collections comprise documents held locally and

remote resources for which permanent or temporary access rights have been acquired.

Include any OA titles searchable through the library’s catalog or discovery system, but

do not count titles from HathiTrust, Center for Research Libraries, Internet Archive, and

similar collections unless the library owns the digitized item and it is accessible under

current copyright law. Acquisition is to be understood as securing access rights and

including it in the library catalog, other library databases or discovery systems. Access

rights may be acquired by the library itself, by a consortium, and/or through external

funding.

Interlibrary lending and document delivery are excluded from the collection.

Include government documents that are cataloged and/or searchable through the library

catalog or discovery system.

Definitions used in multiple

measures

Book

A non-serial publication of any length bound in hard or soft covers or in loose-leaf or

electronic format. Also called monograph. Includes printed sheet music and Braille.

[NISO Z39.7-2013 4.3]

Cataloged

“Cataloged” includes documents for which records are provided by the library or

downloaded from other sources into the library catalog or discovery system. Cataloging

level does not matter.

Discovery System

A discovery system product consists of an interface directed toward the users of a library

to find materials in its collections and subsequently to gain access to items of interest

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through the appropriate mechanisms. Discovery systems tend to be independent from the

specific applications that libraries implement to manage resources, such as integrated

library systems, library services platforms, repository platforms, or electronic resource

management systems. In most cases they provide access to multiple types of materials,

independently of the management platform involved. Discovery systems provide an

interface with search and retrieval capabilities, often with features such as relevancy-

based ordering of search results, facets presented that can be selected to narrow results

according to specific categories, contributors, or date ranges, and tools to identify related

materials or to refine search queries. Examples of discovery systems can be found at

http://librarytechnology.org/discovery/.

Government documents

Include local, state, regional, federal and international. Include government documents

that are accessible through the library's catalogs regardless of whether they are separately

classified and/or shelved.

Microforms

Microforms are photographic reproduction of textual, tabular, or graphic material

reduced in size so that they can be used only with magnification. Examples of

microforms are roll microfilm, aperture cards, microfiche, ultrafiche, and reproductions

on opaque material.

Title

The designation of a separate bibliographic whole, whether issued in one or several

volumes, reels, discs, slides, or other parts. Titles are defined according to the Anglo-

American Cataloging Rules. A book or serial title may be distinguished from other such

titles by its unique International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or International

Standard Serial Number (ISSN). This definition applies equally to print, electronic,

audiovisual, and other library materials. For unpublished works, the term is used to

designate a manuscript collection or an archival record series. Two subscriptions to

Science magazine, for example, are counted as one title. When vertical file materials are

counted, a file folder is considered a title. [NISO Z39.7-2013 4-Collections]

40 Column A. Physical Books (include government documents)

Report physical book titles owned or leased by the library if individual titles are cataloged and/or searchable through the

library catalog or discovery system. Exclude serials, microforms, maps, nonprint materials, and uncataloged items.

Include music scores if searchable by title through the library catalog or discovery system.

Include government documents that are accessible through the library's catalogs regardless of whether they are separately

classified and/or shelved. “Cataloged” includes documents for which records are provided by the library or downloaded

from other sources into the library’s card or online catalogs or discovery system. Government documents include local,

state, regional, federal and international.

Include open access (OA) titles if the individual titles are searchable through the library’s catalog or discovery system.

40 Column B. Digital/Electronic Books (include government documents)

Report e-book titles owned or leased by the library if individual titles are cataloged and/or searchable through the library

catalog or discovery system. Examples of discovery systems can be found at http://librarytechnology.org/discovery/.

E-books are digital documents (including those digitized by the library), licensed or not, where searchable text is

prevalent, and which can be seen in analogy to a printed book (monograph). Include e-book titles in aggregated sets in

which the library selected the aggregator even if not each individual e-book title.

http://librarytechnology.org/discovery/

http://librarytechnology.org/discovery/

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Report the number at the administrative entity level; do not duplicate unit count for each branch.

Include government documents, locally digitized electronic books and electronic theses and dissertations. Include digital

music scores if searchable by title through the library catalog or discovery system. Include open access (OA) titles if the

individual titles are searchable through the library’s catalog or discovery system, except do not count e-book titles from

HathiTrust, Center for Research Libraries, Internet Archive, and similar collections unless the library owns the digitized

item and it is accessible under current copyright law.

Do not include titles in Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA) or Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA) collections until they

have been purchased by the library.


● Include open access titles if they are searchable through the library's catalog or discovery system.

● Count each e-book title as a single title, regardless of its number of user seats.

● If possible, do not report duplicate titles even if the titles are in two or more databases or services. Report the titles

based upon the cataloged bibliographic record rather than holdings records attached to the bibliographic record.

● E-book titles may be found through the library’s link resolver knowledge base in addition to the catalog or

discovery system.

● A dissertation database such as ProQuest Dissertation & Theses Database is reported as a database.

40a. Books [volume count]

IPEDS discontinued the reporting of physical volume counts in 2016. ACRL understands that there is trend analysis value

for this long-standing measure. Therefore, if available:

Report the number of volumes using the ANSI/NISO Z39.7-2013 (section 4) definition for volume, which is as follows:

“A single physical unit of any printed, typewritten, handwritten, mimeographed, or processed work, distinguished

from other units by a separate binding, encasement, portfolio, or other clear distinction, which has been cataloged,

classified, and made ready for use, and which is typically the unit used to charge circulation transactions. Either a

serial volume is bound or it comprises the issues that would be bound together if the library bound all serials.”


● Include duplicate copies, bound serial volumes, and music scores.

● For the purposes of the ACRL survey, unclassified bound serials arranged in alphabetical order are considered

classified.

● Exclude microfilms, maps, nonprint materials, and uncataloged items.

● Include all government document volumes if individual titles are searchable through the library’s catalog or

discovery system regardless of whether they are shelved separately. "Classified" includes documents arranged by

Superintendent of Documents, CODOC, or similar numbers.

The reported counts for question 40a will not be used in the sum to fill in question 44 Total Physical Collections.

41. Digital/Electronic Databases

Report the total number of licensed digital/electronic databases in your collection if there is bibliographic or discovery

access at the database level. Each database is counted individually even if access to several databases is supported through

the same vendor interface.

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A database is a collection of electronically stored data or unit records (facts, bibliographic data, or texts) with a common

user interface and software for the retrieval and manipulation of the data. The data or records are usually collected with a

particular intent and relate to a defined topic.

Do not include discovery systems in the count of databases. Do not include "individual releases" such as annual updates of

content or the migration of the user interface to the next vendor-release (i.e., interface version 3.0 replaces version 2.0) as

separate databases.


● Include open access databases if they are searchable through the library's catalog or discovery system. Note that

this is not IPEDS language.

● Consider a resource a database if the user links to the content as a whole and then selects individual resources

within the database that best serves their needs.

● Include e-book databases but also report the individual e-book titles within the database separately under question

40 Column B. Digital/Electronic Books.

42 Column A. Physical Media

Report the number of titles of media materials. Include microforms, audiovisual materials, cartographic, graphic materials,

and three-dimensional artifacts realia.


● IPEDS and ACRL view physical media as more inclusive than just audio and visual resources. For example,

IPEDS identifies microforms as physical media rather than physical books. Maps in print are also counted in this

section as physical media rather than physical books. Microforms and maps are specifically excluded from the

physical books count in question 40.

● Count microform titles not, for example, the number of boxes of microfilm rolls.

● If your library has any media serials, do not include them here; include them only in the serials count.

● If a media title is broken into two containers for circulation purposes, it would count as one title for physical

media collection.

● Microforms are photographic reproduction of textual, tabular, or graphic material reduced in size so that they can

be used only with magnification. Examples of microforms are roll microfilm, aperture cards, microfiche,

ultrafiche, and reproductions on opaque material.

● Cartographic material are materials representing in whole or in part the earth or any celestial body at any scale

(e.g., maps and charts).

● NISO Z39.7-2013 defines graphic materials as: “Opaque (e.g., two-dimensional) art originals and reproductions,

charts, photographs or materials intended to be projected or viewed without sound, e.g., filmstrips, transparencies,

photographs, posters, pictures, radiographs, slides, and collections of such materials.” [NISO Z39.7-2013, section

4.6]

42 Column B. Digital/Electronic Media

Report titles of e-media materials owned or leased by the library if the individual titles are cataloged and/or searchable

through the library catalog or discovery system. E-media materials are media materials that are in digital format and are

available for download or streaming. For example, titles from Films on Demand or Alexander Street Press should be

reported.

Include digital graphic materials and cartographic materials. Include e-media titles in aggregated sets in which the library

selected the aggregator even if not each individual title.

Report the number at the administrative entity level; do not duplicate unit count for each branch.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Do not count image databases (Artstor, AP Photo Archive) in this category (these resources should be counted as

databases). Do not include titles in Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA) or Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA) collections

until they have been purchased or leased by the library.


● Include open access titles if they are searchable through the library's catalog or discovery system.

● Exclude serials.

● E-media titles may be found through the library’s link resolver knowledge base in addition to the catalog or

discovery system.

43 Column A. Physical Serials

Report the number of current and ceased physical serial titles that are accessible through the library’s catalog or discovery

system. A serial is a publication in any medium issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations

and intended to be continued indefinitely. This definition includes, in any physical format, periodicals, serial titles on

microform, newspapers, and annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.); the journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc. of

societies; and numbered monographic series.

Report serial titles, not subscriptions.

If possible, report the count of only those de-duplicated or otherwise unique serial titles searchable through the library’s


If possible, do not include earlier title changes; however, do not worry about removing them if it is not possible/feasible.

43 Column B. Digital/Electronic Serials

Report the number of current and ceased e-serial titles that are accessible through the library’s catalog or discovery

system. An e-serial is a periodical publication that is published in digital form to be displayed on a computer screen.

Include open access (OA) titles if the individual titles are searchable through the library’s catalog or discovery system,

except do not count e-serial titles from HathiTrust, Center for Research Libraries, Internet Archive, and similar collections

unless the library owns the digitized item and it is accessible under current copyright law.

If possible, report the count of only those de-duplicated or otherwise unique serial titles searchable through the library’s

catalog or discovery system. If possible, do not count earlier title changes; however, do not worry about removing them if

it is not possible/feasible. A source for counting e-serials may be a library- or vendor-developed A-Z title list of e-

journals.

Report serial titles, not subscriptions. E-serial titles may be found through the library’s link resolver knowledge base in

addition to the catalog or discovery system.

44. Total Physical Collection and Total Digital/Electronic Collection


45. External Contributions from Consortia / Network(s) / Systems

If the library receives access to e-collections, catalog platforms, discovery services, or other e-resources through one or

more centrally-funded system or consortial arrangements for which it does not pay fully and/or directly (for example,

funding is provided by the state on behalf of all members), enter the amount paid by external bodies on its behalf. If the

specific dollar amount is not known, but the total student FTE for the consortium and amount spent for the academic

members are known, divide the overall amount spent by the institution’s share of the total student FTE. The consortium or

system office may make a value-per-FTE metric available for all members of the consortium.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


See the ACRL FAQ about where to report consortial costs paid through library budgets.

Institutional Repositories

An institutional repository is a set of services that an institution or organization (library, archive, digital collection, etc.)

offers to the members of its community for the management and dissemination of digital materials created by the

institution and its community members. It is most essentially an organizational commitment to the stewardship of these

digital materials, including long-term preservation where appropriate, as well as organization and access or distribution.

Libraries have established, or host or administer institutional repositories (IRs) to manage, preserve and maintain the

digital assets, intellectual output, and histories of their own as well as other institutions. In addition, librarians provide

expertise by describing and enabling discovery as well as access while preserving and providing stewardship for these

documents and digital information resources.


● Content hosted in an institutional repository may include, for example, scholarly publications (pre-print, post-

print and publisher versions), conference proceedings, white papers, technical reports, presentations (speeches,

posters or PowerPoints), performances (e.g., dramatic, musical), institutional publications such as alumni

magazines, class catalogs and annual reports, datasets, software and video.

● Best practice is to provide usage statistics for the institutional repository that align as much as possible with the

COUNTER Code of Practice.

● Please note that certain collections or parts of the repository may not be open access and may be restricted to only

parts of the community. Usage counts should include uses of all items whether there are restrictions on access to

them (e.g., on campus use only) or not (i.e., open access).

50. Items held in the institutional repository(ies)

Report the total number of items held in the library’s hosted or administered institutional repositories. Include all items

whether created by library staff, faculty, students, college staff, or other guests. If your library does not have an

institutional repository, leave the field blank.

51. Item usage from the institutional repository(ies)

Report the number of downloads from the institutional repository(ies) during the reported fiscal year. If available,

download counts are preferred. However, if downloads are not available, usage statistics may include page views, visits or

other data related to the access of the items in the institutional repository; please indicate which type of count you are

providing. If your library does not have an institutional repository, leave the field blank.

If possible, limit the reported usage to only human readership. Institutional repository vendors have reported that their

analysis of download traffic shows that a large number of downloads are generated by web spiders and robots, many from

legitimate sources but many with an unknown purpose.

Library Services

Library Circulation / Usage

60 Column A. Total Physical Circulation

Report the total number of times physical items are checked out from the general and reserve collections. Include only

initial checkouts (circulation), not renewals. Exclude interlibrary loan lending and borrowing.

Include transactions of books, media, and serials. Do not include transactions of equipment or computers. However,

circulation of electronic reading devices (e.g., Kindles) can be included if the device is pre-loaded with e-books. For

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


example, if a customer checks out a Kindle that is pre-loaded with 20 e-books, then that transaction counts as 1 physical

circulation, not 20 electronic/digital circulations.

Do not include in-house circulation (items that library personnel pick up from tables and carrels and then scan to track in-

house use) with circulation.

60 Column B. Total Digital/Electronic Circulation or Usage

Please note: These definitions will be updated next year for COUNTER 5 changes. If you are reporting with

COUNTER 5 data, please indicate in your notes which data you chose to collect.

Report usage of digital/electronic titles whether viewed, downloaded, or streamed. Include usage for e-books and e-media

titles only. Include titles even if they were purchased as part of a collection or database. Do not include e-serials and

institutional repository documents, which are reported separately.

If possible, do not include usage of titles in Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA) or Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA)

collections until they have been purchased or leased by the library.

Do not include transactions of VHS, CDs, or DVDs, as the transactions of these materials are reported under "physical

circulation.”


● Viewing documents is defined as having the full text of a digital document or electronic resource downloaded.

[NISO Z39.7-2013, section 7.7]

● An electronic resource management system (ERMS) and/or a usage consolidation service may be helpful for

collecting e-book usage statistics.

● Libraries may need to ask vendors for usage reports; reports may not be delivered automatically or in easily-

understood formats by the vendor to the library.

61. & 62. E-book usage

This breakdown is requested to help libraries seeking such information for benchmarking studies.

Many vendors will provide usage statistics in COUNTER reports. Project COUNTER Code of Practice is available here:

https://www.projectcounter.org/code-of-practice-sections/general-information/. Relevant COUNTER reports for e-books

are: BR1-Number of Successful Title Requests by Month and Title; and BR2-Number of Successful Section Requests by

Month and Title. For media, the report MR1-Number of Successful Multimedia Full Content Unit Requests by Month and

Collection, is most relevant.

If COUNTER reports are available, IPEDS suggest that libraries report counts from BR1 and MR1. If BR1 and MR1

statistics are not available, BR2 and MR2 statistics can be used. In cases where vendors do not provide COUNTER

reports, libraries may report using other means for monitoring digital/electronic circulation/usage (downloads, session

views, transaction logs, etc.).

If counts are available, separately report e-book usage. If usage is available for COUNTER BR1, report on line 61

Column B. If usage is available for COUNTER BR2, report on line 62 Column B. Libraries not using COUNTER should

provide the most valid and reliable response possible for e-book usage for question 61 and make a note, or report zero in

both 61 and 62.


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


● The reported counts for questions 61 and 62 will not be used as a sum to fill in Total Digital/Electronic

Circulation in question 60 Column B.


collecting e-book usage statistics.

● Libraries may need to ask vendors for e-book usage reports; reports may not be delivered automatically or in

easily-understood formats by the vendor to the library.

63. E-serials usage

Please note: e-serials usage is not currently reported to IPEDS as part of their Academic Libraries survey component.

However, e-serials are an important content source for users of academic libraries. This breakdown is requested because

of the importance of e-serials to academic library users, and to help libraries seeking such information for benchmarking

studies.

Also please note that the ACRL Academic Library Trend and Statistics Survey is not collecting use of print serial titles

separately from other physical initial circulation.

Guidelines for collecting e-serials usage:

● Include usage for all e-serials, even if the title was purchased as part of a database.

● When possible record usage at the article level. The most relevant COUNTER report is JR1 (which includes any

use in JR1GOA and JR1a reports).

● In cases where vendors do not provide COUNTER reports, libraries may report using other means for monitoring

digital/electronic circulation/usage (downloads, session views, transaction logs, etc.) and make a note, or report

zero.

● Viewing a document is defined as having the full text of a digital document or electronic resource downloaded.

[NISO Z39.7-2013, section 7.7]

● If available, include the count for open access e-serial usage if the title is accessible through the library’s catalog

or discovery system.


collecting e-serial usage statistics.

● Libraries may need to ask vendors for e-serial usage reports; reports may not be delivered automatically or in

easily-understood formats by the vendor to the library.

Information Services to Individuals

Transactions and consultation interactions are defined as information contacts that involve the knowledge, use,

recommendations, interpretation, or instruction in the use of one or more information sources by a member of the library

staff. The term includes information and referral service.

Information sources include printed, online, and non-printed materials, e-resources and databases (including assistance

with computer searching), the library’s own catalogs and holdings records, other libraries and institutions through

communication or referral, and persons both inside and outside the library. [NISO Z39.7-2013, section 7.3, wording

slightly modified]

If separate counts are not available for transactions (question 64) and consultations (question 65), report the total number

of information services to individuals as transactions on line 64, and make a note.

64. Transactions

Transactions are typically walk-ups in person, by phone, by e-mail, or by the Web, and may take place at the reference

desk or elsewhere. Include information and referral services.

Do not report directional transactions here. A directional transaction is an information contact which facilitates the use of

the library in which the contact occurs and which does NOT involve the knowledge, use, recommendation, interpretation,

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


or instruction in the use of any information sources other than those which describe the library, such as schedules, floor

plans, handbooks, and policy statements. Examples of directional transactions include giving instruction in locating,

within the library, staff, library users, or physical features, etc., and giving assistance of a non-bibliographic, non-

teaching/instructional nature with equipment or software.

If a contact includes both reference and directional services, it should be reported as one transaction. When a staff member

uses information gained from previous use of information sources to answer a question, the request is reported as an

information request even if the source is not consulted again. [modified from NISO Z39.7-2013, section 7.3]

It is up to the discretion of library staff whether multiple questions from the same patron during the same session count as

multiple transactions or continuations of the same.

65. Consultations

Consultations are one-on-one or small group appointments that occur outside of the classroom or reference desk which

require staff preparation or equivalent previous relevant experience. Include in-person consultations as well as those

conducted online or remotely. Include appointments made with special collections and/or archives staff. This may include

any walk-up transactions if the person initially asked could not answer the question and the question is referred to another

person with the appropriate and aligned knowledge, no matter what the length or topic discussed.

A specific example of a walk-up transaction becoming a consultation is when a question posed at the reference desk

cannot be answered at the desk at that moment for whatever reason. The person at the desk may encourage the patron to

schedule an appointment, or contact an appropriate person in their office to see if they are available. If an appropriate

person is available and comes out to the desk, or invites the patron back to their office, this would be a reference

consultation albeit unscheduled.

67. Virtual Reference Services

A virtual reference interaction is a question that is received and responded to in electronic format and conforms to

reference interactions in that it is an information contact that involves the knowledge, use, commendation, interpretation,

or instruction in the use of one or more information sources by a member of the library staff. Virtual reference interactions

include email, webform, chat, text messaging, instant messaging, or other network-based medium designed to support

virtual reference. [NISO Z39.7-2013, section 7.3.1]


• Include both transactions and consultations.

Locations

68. Indicate the number of branch and independent libraries

Report the number of branch and independent libraries at your institution that were open all or part of fiscal year 2019.

EXCLUDE THE MAIN OR CENTRAL LIBRARY.

Branch and independent libraries are defined as auxiliary library service outlets with quarters separate from the central

library of an institution, which have a basic collection of books and other materials, a regular staffing level, and an

established schedule. Include virtual/digital-based branch and independent libraries.

Branch and independent libraries are administered either by the central library, or as in the case of some libraries (such as

law, medical, etc.), through the administrative structure of the other units within the university.

Departmental study/reading rooms are not included. Please note that data for libraries on branch campuses (i.e., located in

another community) are included if those campuses are registered under the same NCES Unit ID number as the main

campus.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


See the section titled “Notes for Library Consortia” earlier in this document for more information about IPEDS

parent/child relationships.

Information Services to Groups

Information contacts planned in advance in which a staff member, or a person invited by a staff member, provides

information intended for a number of persons. Information service to groups includes information literacy instruction as

well as cultural, recreational, or other educational presentations. Presentations both on and off the library premises are

included as long as the library sponsors them. Meetings sponsored by other groups using library meeting rooms are not

included. [NISO 39.7-2013, section 7.8.3, wording modified] Self-paced tutorials should be excluded as well as meetings

sponsored by outside groups using the library’s meeting spaces. Presentations planned for library staff should be excluded

(including those for internal and external library staff, and those for non-student and student library staff). If library staff

attend sessions planned for any interested members of the institution, their counts should be included.

70. Number of presentations

Report the total number of presentations conducted in-person in Column A. Report the total number of presentations

conducted using digital/electronic formats, including web-based presentations, in Column B. Examples of web-based

presentations include webinars and videoconferences. If a presentation is conducted as a simultaneous hybrid (in-person

and online), report only once as either in-person or online. The number of attendees may help to decide which

presentation to count.

If a presentation begins in one format (such as in-person) and ends in another (such as online), report it as the format that

concludes the presentation.

If in-person and online services to groups are not tracked separately, then simply submit the total number of presentations

on line 70 Column C.

71. Total attendance at all presentations

Report the total number of persons attending or served by those presentations. For multi-session classes, count each

person only once regardless of the number of sessions attended if possible/feasible. If attendance is not tracked separately

(physical or digital/electronic), then simply submit the total number of presentations on line 71 Column C.

Hours

72. Number of hours open during a typical week in an academic session

Report an unduplicated count of hours a library facility or facilities are open in a typical week, including the main library

and branches, using the following method:

If a library is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, it should report 40 hours per week. If

several of its branches are also open during these hours, the figure remains 40 hours per week. Should Branch A

also be open one evening from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., the total hours during which users can find service

somewhere within the system becomes 42 hours per week. If Branch B is open the same hours on the same

evening, the count is still 42, but if Branch B is open two hours on another evening, or remains open two hours

later, the total is then 44 hours per week. [NISO 39.7-2013, section 7.2, wording modified]

A “typical week” is a time that is neither unusually busy nor unusually slow. Avoid holidays, vacation periods, days when

unusual events are taking place in the community or in the library. Choose a week in which the library is open regular

hours. [NISO 39.7-2013, section 7.2]

Exclude 24-hour unstaffed reserve or similar reading rooms. The maximum total is 168 (i.e., a staffed reading room open

7 days per week, 24 hours per day).

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Gate Counts

Report the number of entries to the library facilities on an annual basis and/or in a typical week, whichever is easier for

the responder. If the library does not count entries on an annual basis or for a typical week, please enter N/A in the

appropriate block (either lines 73 or 74) or in both blocks.

73. Gate Count on an annual basis

Report the number of entries to the library facilities in the past fiscal year on line 73.

If the library has two or more physical spaces, and one does not use gate counts but conducts an hourly head count,

include the head count in the count on line 73 and include a note: " ____ percent of the gate count represents head counts

done hourly at (# of libraries) library-managed and library-staffed location(s) open _____ hours a week.”

74. Gate Count in a typical week

Report the number of persons who physically enter library facilities in a typical week. It is understood that a single person

may be counted more than once. [NISO 39.7-2013, section 7.1]

Typical Week – A “typical week” is a time that is neither unusually busy nor unusually slow. Avoid holidays, vacation

periods, days when unusual events are taking place in the community or in the library. Choose a week in which the library

is open regular hours. [NISO 39.7-2013, section 7.1]

Interlibrary Loan Services

80. Does your institution have Interlibrary Loan Services?

Respond “yes” or “no” to indicate whether your institution has interlibrary loan services. If yes, please report:

81. Total interlibrary loans and documents provided to other libraries

Leave this question blank if the counts for 81a. and 81b. are available. Report separately for all returnable and non-

returnable interlibrary loans and documents if the count is available.

Report the number of filled requests for material provided to other libraries. Include all returnable and non-returnable

interlibrary loans and documents. Include direct borrowing between consortium members. Do not include transactions

between the main or central library and branches, or transactions between branches. This part of the survey is measuring

transactions between and among libraries.

81a. ILL-01 Returnable

Report materials that the library expects to have returned. Examples of returnables include books, dissertations and theses,

microfilm reels, sound recordings, and audiovisual material.

81b. ILL-02 Non-returnable

Report materials that the library does not expect to have returned. Examples of non-returnables include photocopies or

facsimiles, fiche-to-fiche copies, print copies from microfilm, electronic full-text documents, and gratis print copies of

unpublished reports and/or departmental working papers.

81c. Total if ILL-01 and ILL-02 are reported separately


82. Total interlibrary loans and documents received

Leave this question blank if the counts for 82a., 82b., and 82c. are available. Report separately for all returnable, non-

returnable, and commercial service documents and loans received if the count is available.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Report the number of filled requests for material received from other libraries. Include all returnable and non-returnable

interlibrary loans as well as documents received from commercial services. Documents delivered from commercial

services are all transactions for which the library pays even if library staff is not involved in the transaction. This includes

documents received by regular or express mail, by fax, or in electronic form. Include direct borrowing between

consortium members. Exclude transactions between the main or central library and branches and transactions between

branches.


● Transactions through OCLC’s IFM (Interlibrary Loan Fee Management) service should not be considered

commercial. IFM is an ILL tool used by libraries that assess a fee to a borrowing library. Those transactions

should be reported as a count in either 82a. or 82b.

● Library staff may find a requested document in their own collection, and provide it directly to the patron

requesting it. This should be reported under ‘Information services to individuals.’ This part of the survey is

measuring transactions between and among libraries. (Note that this is not IPEDS language.)

82a. ILL-03 Returnable

Report materials that the lending library expected to have returned. Examples of returnables include books, dissertations

and theses, microfilm reels, sound recordings, and audiovisual material.

82b. ILL-04 Non-returnable

Report materials that the lending library did not expect to have returned. Examples of non-returnables include photocopies

or facsimiles, fiche-to-fiche copies, print copies from microfilm, electronic full-text documents, and gratis print copies of

unpublished reports and/or departmental working papers.

82c. ILL-05 Documents received from commercial services

Any publisher site that sells documents directly to consumers in which the library is involved in the borrowing

transactions, either directly (the library makes the decision to use the service) or indirectly (the user makes the decision

but the library pays for the transaction) is a commercial service. An example of a commercial service is Get It Now from

the Copyright Clearance Center.

82d.


Student Enrollment

Many of the derived ratios sought by librarians involve student enrollment data, such as expenditures per student,

reference transactions per student or number of staff per student. IPEDS collects student enrollment data; however, these

data are reported more than a year following their collection. ACRL is asking survey respondents to provide student

enrollment data so that these ratios can be obtained in a timely manner, thereby adding value to your data.

90. Full-time Equivalents (FTE)

Report the number of student full-time equivalents as reported by the institution on the IPEDS 12-Month Enrollment

survey component, Part A. The campus Institutional Research office will be able to supply you with the FTE in the

standardized format used to report to IPEDS on behalf of the campus as a whole. Canadian members: please supply a

figure if available, and include any general notes you have about how the figure was calculated/sourced.

91. Headcounts

Leave question 91 blank if the counts for 91a., 91b., 91c., and 91d. are available. Report the total of student headcounts on

line 91 only IF the library cannot report separately for full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students (lines 91a -

91d). Report the number of student headcounts as of Fall 2018.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Report separately if counts are available for:

Full time undergraduates - headcounts (Line 91a)

Part time undergraduates - headcounts (Line 91b)

Full time graduates - headcounts (Line 91c)

Part time graduates - headcounts (Line 91d)

The sum of these four lines will be calculated on line 91e.

A good source for these data is the Common Data Set (CDS), Table B1, Institutional Enrollment - Men and Women.

Many institutions voluntarily submit data to the CDS (http://www.commondataset.org/) and then provide the data via their

websites. If the Common Data Set is unavailable via the institution’s website, the Institutional Research office will likely

have this student enrollment information.

Other

100. What specific changes / additions would you suggest to this annual survey?

Please provide a list of changes or additions (this is a multiple line text box) you would like the members of the ACRL

Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey Editorial Board to consider for future surveys.

Notes

110. Notes

Please use this space to include any additional, non-measure-specific information to provide context for the data you've

reported above.

http://www.commondataset.org/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Additional Guidance

Staffing & Expenses

What guidance can you offer on reporting consortial costs?

The following is not IPEDS language:

If the library receives access to e-collections, catalog platforms, discovery services, or other e-resources through one or

more centrally-funded system or consortial arrangements for which it does not pay fully and/or directly (for example

funding is provided by the state on behalf of all members), enter the amount paid by external bodies on its behalf under

question 45: “External contributions from consortia/networks/systems.” If the specific dollar amount is not known, but the

total student FTE for the consortium and amount spent for the academic members are known, divide the overall amount

spent by the institution’s share of the total student FTE. The consortium or system office may make a value-per-FTE

metric available for all members of the consortium.

For costs paid through the library or institutional budget:

If your library pays a set annual consortium fee for memberships that do not include access to collections, report the

membership fee under “All other operations and maintenance expenses.” If the membership fee includes costs for access

to collections, but that part of the fee cannot be broken out, include the entire fee under “All other operations and

maintenance expenses.” If consortial costs for access to collections can be broken out, report them under the appropriate

category. Report costs under “All other materials/services costs” if the costs can’t be divided between one-time and

ongoing.

Should expenditures for memberships (e.g., state and national associations) be reported?

Yes, include membership costs if they are part of the library budget. Please see the FAQ immediately above for guidance.

Where should I report registration and travel expenses for staff to attend conferences/professional development?


Please include in “All other operations and maintenance expenses.”

Our institution now has a Library and Learning Center, instead of a standalone Library, which is comprised of a

library, tutoring, a writing center, and computer labs. Should we answer for the entire facility or just the library

component?

You should answer for the entire facility if it’s under the library’s administrative unit, reports to the head of libraries, and

expenses are paid from the library’s budget.

How does an institution report digitization expenditures?

Report expenditures for digitization for preservation purposes as preservation expenditures, regardless of whether it is an

outsourced service. Other digitization-related expenses are either reported under “all other materials/service cost” OR “All

other operations and maintenance expenses.”

Should we include short-term temporary staff in the staffing counts?

No. Per the IPEDS HR survey, exclude casual staff (staff hired on an ad-hoc or occasional basis to meet short-term need).

Expenses for Collections

How are purchased electronic journals counted?

Electronic journals are included in the Digital/Electronic Serials title count. Use of electronic journals is included in the E-

serials Usage count, but not in the “Total Digital/Electronic Circulation or Usage” count which IPEDS defines as e-book

and e-media use only. Expenses for electronic journal subscriptions should be reported under “Ongoing commitments to

subscriptions.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Should we include annual access fees for ebook platforms in question 21a?

Yes, if possible.

Counts for Collections

Many institutions in our consortium no longer bind journal volumes (as a cost savings measure). Is there an official

recommendation on how to count those unbound issues?


Not yet. Is it possible to count issues as if bound? Your library might have an average number of volumes per foot you

might use if you can measure the space the unbound issues take up.

If we own a serial title, but will likely withdraw it because it exists in a shared storage facility, should we include it

in our collection counts?


As long as the title remains in your catalog or discovery system, count the title.

If an institution’s academic library is in a consortium with a public library, can their shared resources be included

in the Academic Library survey?

A library consortium can be multitype; almost any type of library can participate (e.g., public libraries). However, for their

shared items to be included on the Academic Library survey, the items have to be cataloged and/or searchable through the

library catalog or discovery system.

How should items missing from the library’s collection be counted?

Missing items are part of the collection.

Where are print photographs reported?

Print photographs are reported as graphic materials within physical media.

How does an institution count microforms if not in the library catalog or discovery system as individual titles?

Serial microform titles are counted under serials. Other microforms are counted in physical media, and they are counted

by the title; do not use item counts (such as microfiche pieces). Microform titles are counted only if the titles are

searchable through the institution’s catalog and discovery system. For example, if there are thousands of titles in ERIC

that are not searchable through the institution's catalog or discovery system, ERIC should be counted as 1 title.

How do you report serial titles on microform?

Report non-serial microform titles in physical media, and serial titles on microform under physical serials. If the library

cannot determine if a microform title is a serial or not, then report it under physical media.

If a title is not searchable through the institution’s catalog or discovery system, but is searchable through their link

resolver, is this counted in IPEDS?

Yes, institutions should count titles that are searchable through their link resolver even if they are not searchable through

their catalog or discovery system.

When reporting the count of digital/electronic materials, do we count the total number available at the system level

or at the branch level?

Report at the system or administrative entity level. For example, if the library system has 3 branch libraries and access to

2,038 downloadable audio units at the system level, then it would report 2,038 and not 6,114 units.

How do we count electronic books available via e-book services such as the Ebook Library (EBL), Freading, or

Overdrive?

Report each title owned or leased by the library if individual titles are cataloged and/or searchable through the library


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When counting e-books, should we only count those ebooks that have full level cataloging records?

Count all ebooks cataloged in your library catalog or discovery system. The cataloging level does not matter.

How do we count media offered through online streaming services such as Films on Demand, VAST, Swank?

Report titles of the media if it is owned or leased by the library, if the titles are cataloged, and/or searchable through the

library catalog or discovery system.

If a digital/electronic unit can be downloaded as many formats, is each format counted as a separate title?

Count all formats as one title. For example, count an e-book title that is available via epub, PDF, or Kindle formats as one

title.

For collections, do we count downloadables (e-books, e-serials, and e-media) that do not have records in our

catalog but that we have access to?

Count only downloadables to which you have access and that are in your library’s catalog or discovery system.

How are electronic theses and dissertations counted?

Theses and dissertations in electronic format can be included under "digital/electronic books", providing they are part of

the library's collection. Report the titles.

Can I report open access (OA) titles as part of my collection?

OA titles may be included if the individual titles are searchable through the library's catalog or discovery system.

However, do not count titles from HathiTrust, Center for Research Libraries, Internet Archive, and similar collections

unless the library owns the digitized item and it is accessible under current copyright law.

Should I report open access databases?


Yes, please include them if they are searchable through the library's catalog or discovery system.

Are proceedings included as an e-book or as an e-serial?

This is not IPEDS language:

Count these in the appropriate category based on how they are treated in the library catalog or discovery system.

Is Artstor reported as a database or media?

Artstor is reported as a database.

Usage / Circulation

Does circulation include both check-outs and check-ins?

Circulation only includes initial check-outs; it does not include renewals or check-ins.

In-house circulation may include items that library personnel pick up from tables and carrels and scanned to track

their use. Do we include in-house use as circulation?

Do not include these types of in-house circulation with circulation or interlibrary lending.

Why does question 60 Column B only count e-books and not e-serial or e-journal circulation/usage in databases?

IPEDS does not collect the circulation/usage of electronic serials, so we need to include a question that feeds directly into

their report. However, most libraries would agree that their e-serial usage is a critical factor to assess and therefore we

have added questions to gather data on this topic.

Ebrary counts every page download as a chapter download. Should an institution report Ebrary counts in

COUNTER BR2 data?

Include COUNTER BR2 reports with Ebrary. However, please note the inclusion of Ebrary in the comments section on

the survey. Please use this rule for any similar cases.

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What are some suggestions for obtaining a list of titles to get digital/electronic circulation counts?

If you have titles in your knowledge base in your link resolver integrated into your discovery tool, this can be a

straightforward way to get title counts for the digital/electronic collections (e-books, e-serials, and e-media). If your link

resolver is not complete for e-books or e-multimedia, it might be better to rely on getting the title counts through catalog

records or other means.

What are the basic steps for obtaining COUNTER Reports for Digital/Electronic Circulation?

First, identify where you should collect your electronic and digital circulation data. Some options are:

● Publishers that host their own content (e.g., Elsevier on ScienceDirect)

● Publishers that use a third-party platform to host content (e.g., Royal Society on Highwire)

● Aggregators that license content from a wide variety of publishers and offer it through a database (e.g., Academic

Search Complete on EBSCOhost)

Second, obtain a list of providers and identify how to obtain reports from each provider. An example of steps for this

process are as follows:

● Compile spreadsheet of providers.

● Identify administrative URLs and login information needed to collect statistics.

● Identify formats and reports to collect under each provider:

o Serials - JR 1

o Books - BR 1

o Books - BR 2

o Multimedia - MR 1

Please note: These definitions will be updated next year for COUNTER 5 changes. If you are

reporting with COUNTER 5 data, please indicate which data you chose to collect in the notes.

● Identify providers where you need to contact vendor or where statistics are unavailable.

● Work your way through the list, recording the Reporting Period Total in your spreadsheet.

● Provide IPEDS with one total sum of all digital/electronic Reporting Period Totals obtained through all providers.

Note: In cases where vendors do not provide COUNTER reports, libraries may report using other means for monitoring

digital/electronic circulation/usage (downloads, session views, transaction logs, etc.) with a note.

The ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Editorial Board knows how difficult these numbers are to collect and

how much time and effort library staff spend in gathering these data. We hope that, by requiring these data as part of this

survey, libraries will be able to pressure vendors for better data and COUNTER compliant reports.

The instructions state to exclude DDA and PDA usage until items have been purchased or leased by the library.

What if the vendor / we cannot exclude those numbers in a COUNTER report?

If DDA and PDA numbers cannot be excluded in the institution’s COUNTER report, then please report the COUNTER

report with DDA and PDA numbers included. However, please note this detail in the comment box available on the

survey.

Should an institution include usage based collection model items (e.g., evidence-based programs) in e-book usage?

The survey excludes DDA or PDA collections unless they have been purchased by the institution. However, if the title is

purchased in an evidence-based model, and it is searchable through the catalog or discovery system, then it is counted in

e-book usage.

Services

Should we include presentations to groups given outside of our information literacy program?

Yes, include all presentations to groups you provide for your users. For example, include sessions for any credit courses

your staff teach for your institution, any workshops your staff give, any presentations given by experts invited by library

staff (e.g., lectures that open exhibits), etc. Do not include sessions given specifically for library staff (be it your or other

libraries’ staff). Do not include tabling events, as those are not presentations.

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Library staff may find a document requested through ILL in their own collection, and provide it directly to the

patron requesting it. Where should this type of request be counted?


These requests should be reported under ‘Information services to individuals.’ This part of the survey is measuring

transactions between and among libraries.